Illegal border crosser arrested in Texas for murders and dismembering gang rivals

The following is an excerpt from the Border Report.

Two Mexican judges say they have sufficient evidence to hold for trial a 22-year-old woman accused of orchestrating several murders, dismembering and cutting out the victims’ hearts in some cases.

Michelle Angelica Pineda Valdez, aka “La Chely,” will remain behind bars at Cereso No. 3 prison in Juarez through May 21.

That’s the deadline Chihuahua State District Judge Fabiola Dominguez on Wednesday gave prosecutors and defense attorneys to present evidence and supporting arguments in a multiple homicide case.

The FBI’s Safe Street Task Force on Feb. 15 arrested Pineda in an El Paso, Texas, motel room where she allegedly kept a cache of drugs and weapons. Task force members found fentanyl pills, Xanax tablets, heroin, cocaine and meth inside the room, as well as several firearms and machetes.

U.S. authorities identified Pineda as a member of the Artistas Asesinos gang known in Juarez for utilizing extreme violence on rivals. The U.S. Border Patrol and the FBI handed her over to Mexican authorities.

Pineda reportedly had crossed the border illegally to evade prosecution in Mexico in connection to three murders and suspicions of being involved in more than other 20 homicides. (Continued…)

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